As the weekly world turns: Saban, Sark and all the news that’s fit to fib

My degree in “Fake News” from Cal State Fullerton has served me well since 1981. Four years of studying the “yellow” journalism of William Randolph Hearst, along with other muckrakers, has keenly honed my skills in the art of B.S. detection. The pot-smoking, acid-dropping, hippy-dippy weathermen professors who taught me how to fabricate sources prepared me like a sous chef for a four-decade career of lying about lying athletes, coaches and administrators.

It’s hard to slip anything by me these days, which is why my “Lance Armstrong” alarm went off Tuesday with the news that Steve Sarkisian was amicably leaving Alabama, after one game, to become offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons.

Nick Saban put out a nice statement: “We appreciate all Coach Sarkisian did for our program during his time here. He is an outstanding coach.”

Right.

Sarkisian offensively coordinated one game for Alabama—the loss to Clemson in last month’s national title game.

Not long ago, Sark was being promoted as the seamless and harmonious successor to Lane Kiffin, the bad-boy brat Saban couldn’t wait to put on a boat to the Gulf of Mexico.

And now, a month later, right after signing day, Sarkisian bolts for Atlanta with a letter of recommendation from his old boss?

Give me a break.

While I was at CSUF, a guest-lecturer spoke in a class I needed to graduate called: “How to Radicalize your hometown newspaper through Friday night prep football coverage.”

For what it’s worth, the news-bender in me knows there is no way Saban is coming clean about why Sarkisian left so abruptly. I have a few guesses as to what happened. The rest of this article is available to subscribers only – to become a subscriber click here.

About The Author

Dufresne, spent 35 years at the Los Angeles Times covering numerous sports. Over the last two decades he emerged as their national college football and basketball columnist. He and his alter-ego Rankman have been putting college teams in their place ever since.